Getting a Local Legend Back on Track

Recently, the Magnin Restaurant Group paid tribute to L.A.’s fire engines of old with its popular downtown restaurant, Engine Co. 28. Now the company is planning to similarly honor another type of large red vehicle: the Red Car, the electric trolley line that was once part of the Los Angeles area’s fine mass transportation system.

Early next summer, according to the Magnin group’s chief financial officer, Linda Griego, the firm hopes to open a new establishment called the Red Car Grill on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood’s new Ramada Inn complex. That’s the site of the late legendary Tropicana Hotel--a site that was once the terminus of the old Sherman branch of the Red Car line.

The food, says Griego, will be similar to that at Engine Co. 28, with perhaps more emphasis on barbecued and smoked items. Noted San Francisco restaurant designer Pat Kuleto will design the interior, tying visuals into the Red Car motif--without, adds Griego, “making the place too seamy.” Engine Co. general manager Steve Grant and executive chef Ed Kasky will assume similar duties at the Red Car grill. Other Magnin restaurant group principals are president Jerry Magnin and vice president Peter Mullin.

MOO WHEN YOU SAY THAT: Yanks in Beverly Hills features “Cowboy Cuisine” in honor of the Fourth of July, from Monday, July 3, through Sunday, July 9. Such dishes as yellowbelly soup, chicken-fried steak, cowpoke corn bread, singin’ cowboy catfish, and Hopalong Cassidy cobbler will be served, in addition to the regular menu.

Meanwhile, Yanks is still missing its mascot, Bessie the Cow--a 12-inch-high hand-painted black-and-white heifer on red wheels, which formerly graced the restaurant’s bar, but was apparently stolen late in April.

“We just want her back,” says Yanks owner Loree Goffigon. “No questions asked.” Whoever returns the cow, in fact, will be offered dinner for two at the restaurant.

Well, OK, Loree--but you should probably count the silverware when they leave. . . .

WHAT HATH PUCK WROUGHT? Actually, it’s probably part Puck, part Domino’s and lots of other people--but, whoever or whatever the causes, pizza is more popular than ever in America today. How popular? The Mid-Atlantic Food Dealers Assn. magazine, Skirmisher, reports that the average American household has pizza 30 times a year, the American per-capita consumption of the stuff is about 23 pounds annually, and only 4% of American households never serve or go out for pizza. This is according to pizza expert Tony Alonso, director of dry sausage/deli for Hormel.

To put our national pizza consumption in different terms, we eat 3.3 million square feet of pizza daily--that’s 75 acres.

At the same time--and this might be bad news for Wolfgang Puck, who co-owns the frozen pizza company that bears his name--the Skirmisher quotes an article in Pizza Today magazine (really, I’m not making this up) that says, “The frozen market is gone.” Many supermarkets are switching from frozen pizza to fresh pizza, made in their own commissaries.

EVENTS, ETC.: L.A. wine lovers might want to make a weekend road trip to Santa Barbara July 8 and 9 when 22 Central Coast wineries hold open houses. There will be seminars, tastings, winemaker dinners, concerts, a wine auction and tours at wineries normally closed to the public. For information call (805) 688-0881. . . . Garlic fans have more time to plan a pilgrimage to the mecca of the stinking rose. That’s right, it’s almost time for the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This year’s dates are July 28-30. Call (415) 332-8804 for information. . . . Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks is trying out what it calls a “two-track breakfast” menu. The “fast track” is a stand-up espresso bar with croissants and pastry served with the morning caffeine jolt of your choice. The “slow track” offers a traditional sit-down breakfast menu. . . . And Cha Cha Cha now serves Saturday and Sunday brunch.